Cable taps are used to connect a number of subscribers in a local area into a cable television (CATV) network. A CATV network consists of interconnected coaxial cables and components such as repeating amplifiers, signal splitters, signal combiners, cable taps and other signal conveying devices to achieve two-way communication of signals between a network provider based at a “head-end” to a subscriber. Downstream signals from the provider to the subscriber are high frequency, typically within the frequency range 54-1002 MHz with return, or upstream, signals from the subscriber to the head-end in a non-overlapping frequency band, typically 5-42 MHz. In the CATV network, amplifiers and cable taps are positioned so that amplifiers compensate for signal loss of the coaxial cable and passive components such as the taps located along the cable path. To increase speed of signals throughout the network, the frequency range or bandwidth of signals can be increased. However, as higher frequencies are sent over the coaxial cable, the loss characteristics of components and the insertion loss of the coaxial cable alter producing more signal loss or less signal gain at higher frequencies.
To compensate for increased loss, the spacing of amplifiers along the coaxial cable needs to be reduced. This is very labour intensive to achieve and increases capital costs as the number of amplifiers needed throughout the network is increased.